Sunday, February 18, 2007

Wife in the Money

Wife in the North has only been blogging for a few weeks, but she's already got a £70,000 book deal. And it's front page news HERE in the Sunday Times.

Last week, after whirlwind approaches from an agent and a publisher, she[Judith O'Reilly] signed a deal to turn the blog, which has become asurprise hit in Britain and America, into a book to be published by VikingPenguin. Her publisher believes the theme of a former career woman following adream to bring up a young family in rural surroundings will tap into thezeitgeist of the postBridget Jones generation. O’Reilly’s wry, poignantdescriptions of her life have met sudden success because of stylish writing andthe power of having the right connections in cyberspace. Like the pop singerLily Allen, who came to prominence through her site on MySpace, O’Reilly foundan audience on the internet before breaking into the traditional media. “It’samazing, it’s all happened so fast,” said O’Reilly, who had not had any paidwork for months after moving north from London. In mid-January her blog wasmentioned on the website of Tom Watson, the MP and regular blogger, whom she had asked for advice. The next day Iain Dale, the political commentator and anotherprolific blogger, linked Wife in the North on his site. That in turn led AndrewSullivan, the American writer and Sunday Times columnist, to note its quality.US readers soon logged on in droves. Within days Patrick Walsh, a Britishliterary agent and publisher, had seen the potential and began working on adeal. “I’ve done other blogs,” said Walsh, “but what’s so refreshing is that itisn’t about sex or celebrity; it’s wry, humorous and honest.” O’Reilly, 42, lefther previous job as education correspondent of The Sunday Times and moved toNorthumberland because her husband Alastair loved the area and wanted to bringup their family away from east London.

Well it's nice to have played a small part in Judith's success. Now, where are all those literary agents beating a path to my door? Silence...

UPDATE: The Sunday Times leader article is also about blogging. Read it HERE. I don't think I have been mentioned in an editorial before!

25 comments:

Anonymous
said...

What a suprise I wouldn't have guessed it ,fancy getting a book deal ,check out what people have already said about this story in you archive's and I think you will find book's were mentioned and don't acted suprised Iain.

I am not surprised that she has been snapped up by a literary agent and publisher. I checked the site out after you mentioned it, and found it a breath of fresh air as opposed to the shit emanating from the likes of The Hitch. I suspect it will eventually be made into a film. Even though it is clearly a different style of blog compared to Guido's, I am glad that she has stolen the show.

Hmm...I still think they are missing a trick with 'Winchester Whisperer', but then she is rather erudite for the 'masses'..the old adage about no one going bankrupt underestimating the taste of the public is very true in publishing.

Anonymous 11:05 a.m. - Well, I would have raced in earlier, but my post didn't get posted. Iain said the Comments on Blogger hadn't been dependable today.

Doubtless you recall my mentioning from Day One that the lady was obviously trying to parlay her very ordinary life into a book or TV series. It was obvious to everyone except good-natured,trusting Iain that, "coping" with "wry humour", with those strange surroundings and weird humans in the north, she felt her unexceptional life merited a wider audience.

I think she may find she is mistaken. For a start, I have a feeling that all the other millions of wives in the north, for example, may fail to see the manufactured exasperation and "wry humour" she describes at having to share their geography and park next to them at Tesco.

Hi I have to say that one of the best things about today were the e-mails I had from other mothers offering me haggis balls for the book launch and chocolate chip cookies the next time I am feeling blue. That is worth more than any publisher's cheque.(They are really good haggis balls.)In any event, I am contemplating handing over the book deal to Brian Appleyard because he does me better than I do.wifey

Tim Worstall tells how fast it all happened. Absolutely miraculous. Umm. Could it have been the other way round? You know, first a chat with a publisher about a book of a blog as her other free-lance work is supposedly drying up and then writing a blog? Just a thought.

Helen - gosh, what a suspicious mind you have! Your theory sounds about right. "Let's run it up the blogpole and see if anyone salutes".

I don't know that the pensées of one more middle class housewife who thinks her life is of wider interest will catch the public imagination, although other Home Counties middle class housewives who also think the north is a dangerous, rather comical foreign country might buy it. No one bought David Blunkett's book. No one bought Cherie Blair's book about living in Downing St.